Rejection e-mail provides fuel for Stone

COATESVILLE – For three long years, whenever Zach Stone needed a motivational boost, all he had to do was open his locker.

There, taped to the backside of the door, was a copy of the e-mail he received in 2009 telling him in no uncertain terms that he wasn’t good enough to play Division II baseball. It became a valuable tool to help summon up the courage to overcome his circumstances as a lowly walk-on at Millersville University. And make no mistake, Stone’s initial prospects were not very encouraging, especially as he sat out his redshirt freshman season in 2010.

The author of the e-mail was former West Chester head baseball coach Greg Mamula.

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“It was a reminder that nobody wanted me,” Stone said.

Despite making a name for himself on the baseball diamond, Stone was not heavily recruited coming out of Coatesville High School. Truth be told, he wasn’t recruited at all -- by anyone.

“So I attended a standard workout at WCU, and played as well as I could,” Stone recalled. “I later e-mailed (Mamula) to ask him what he thought. He e-mailed me back and said he wasn’t interested, and that I should probably play low Division III somewhere.”

Instead of getting discouraged, however, the e-mail only made Stone more determined. Without any financial offer or incentive, he decided to attend Millersville, which – not coincidentally -- is one of West Chester’s biggest conference rivals.

“That was a huge reason I decided to come to here,” Stone acknowledged. “I really wanted to stick it to (Mamula), but I never got the chance.”

Mamula left WCU to become an assistant at the University of Cincinnati before Stone attended his first class at MU in the fall of 2009. But after sitting out his first season, Stone quickly moved into the Marauders starting lineup in 2011 and pieced together one of the best freshman seasons in program history. Today, in the midst of his redshirt junior year, Stone is a leading candidate for PSAC Player of the Year honors.

“I would look at (the e-mail), take it as a slap in the face for that day, and then go out and try to do everything I could to get better than everybody else in the country,” Stone explained.

“Everybody telling you you’re not good enough, and you can’t do this or that, it provided most of my motivation coming in. I just wanted to prove to myself, and everybody else, that I was good enough.”

A year ago, after he became firmly established as a standout college baseball player, Stone finally took the e-mail down from his locker, but he’s never forgotten what it said.

Understandably, Stone gets fired up for every game against West Chester, even though the Golden Rams are now two head coaches removed from Mamula. Currently 10-2 and in sole possession of first place in the PSAC East (27-10 overall), No. 20 Millersville is prepping for a big four-game series against WCU (8-4, 17-13-1) starting with a Friday doubleheader at Serpico Stadium.

“I definitely get jazzed up playing West Chester, but so does everybody else in the PSAC,” Stone said. “Every game has a playoff atmosphere. But going back home, knowing there is going to be some family and friends watching, it’s always a big energizer. And with (WCU) coming off a national championship season, it’s going to be even more electric atmosphere.”

Parents Shawn and Randy Stone are sure to be on hand, along with his 18-year-old sister, Hannah, and an assortment of aunts, uncles, cousins and high school friends.

Stone currently leads the PSAC in batting average (.439), hits (54) and on base percentage (.535), is ranked second in runs (38) and slugging percentage (.659), and third in doubles (12), home runs (5) and RBIs (37). He is a former regional Gold Glove winner as a third baseman, but was moved to first base full-time this season by head coach Jon Shehan in order to get another bat in the lineup.

“I want to play third because I feel like that’s my natural position, but hey, anything I can do to help this team – DH, pitch, whatever – I am OK with it,” Stone said.

He’s come an awfully long way since his days at Coatesville. As a senior, he batted .381 and knocked in 21 runs, but much like teammates Eric Klimoff (now at Neumann) and Brendan O’Brien (Widener), Stone was snubbed by recruiters.

“I struck out three times in two seasons on varsity,” Stone said. “I take a lot of pride in that.”

It was around this time that Stone began embracing his perceived status as an underdog, and he took that mentality to Millersville. Even though scholarship players were ahead of him and other prized recruits were being brought into the program, Stone diligently worked on his defense and hitting while sitting out the 2010 campaign.

“Coming in as a walk-on, it was difficult to get started,” he recalled. “I tried to prove myself because nobody believes a walk-on can be an elite player.

“That first year was extremely tough for me. It was draining mentally because I felt like I was good enough to start, but going to the field every day knowing I wasn’t going to be playing was another motivator.”

By 2011, he was a force that could not be ignored. Now 5-foot-11, 205-pounds, Stone hit a two-run double in the first game of his college career and went on to lead the PSAC with 46 RBIs. The following season, he battled some injuries but still batted .295 and led the team once again in runs batted in.

“I love statistics,” Stone volunteered. “I check them after every game, but I really enjoy line drive doubles. If I hit a home run, I look at it like I made a mistake, hitting a fly ball instead of a line drive.

“As far as I am concerned, there is nothing prettier than a line drive right back up the middle at the pitcher.”

This season Stone leads Millersville in just about every offensive category and has yet to commit an error at first base. With 116 career RBIs, he is already sixth on MU’s all-time list, and for the third straight season, he is one of college baseball’s most difficult players to strike out.

“This year’s been a lot of fun so far,” Stone said. “Seeing the team come together this way has been exciting.”

Stone is often described as a throwback player, thanks to his old school look and approach to the game (think Pete Rose, without the gambling). He doesn’t wear batting gloves, arm guards or gold chains, and forgoes long sleeves even in bitter cold weather. Stone also contributed to this perception by playing much of the 2013 season with bushy sideburns and a horseshoe mustache.

“I did take pride in the sideburns and I had the Fu Manchu going – the Rollie Fingers’ old-school look – earlier this season,” he explained. “But I had to get a haircut after we played IUP. I had a hit streak going and when I went hitless, I figured it was time to change up my look.

“On the field, I’m not into the flashy stuff. I just go out, play as hard as I can and try to be scrappy, finding a way to get on base and help my team win.”

His home run trot – self-described as a “dead-sprint around the bags, going full-bore like I’m trying to beat out a single” – is about as old school as it gets.

Millersville’s breakout season has raised a lot of eyebrows, including increasing attention from professional baseball scouts. Most came to see star pitcher Tim Mayza but Stone has been giving them somebody else to look at.

“I have 100 percent faith in myself,” Stone said. “At the end of the day, I want to become a professional baseball player so I push myself and hold myself to the highest standards. But I don’t ever really worry about all that.